


Day 1- Nosebleed

by Broken_Clover



Series: Goretober 2019 [1]
Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Blood, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Exhaustion, Gen, Seizures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 09:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: It wasn’t anything serious, he told himself. It was just the cold air drying him out.





	Day 1- Nosebleed

Ragna wished that he had anyone else to blame for the shitty weather in Snow Town, but fundamentally, he knew he could only assign blame to himself. Maybe there could have been a way to keep the weather control device from completely breaking down, but he wasn’t an expert on tech. If anything, he was better at destroying them, even if he had a need for it.

At that, he grumbled to himself, lifting up his black arm and running a thumb over the hairline fracture that split his regulator asymmetrically down the middle. He’d just had to be a clumsy idiot, didn’t he? So much for his reputation, the SS-class Grim Reaper couldn’t even make it through a hike between towns without falling down a hill and breaking his own shit.

He pulled his hand back as sparks popped out from the damaged device. It hadn’t been the first time that had happened since he’d broken it, but Ragna certainly didn’t like the sight of it. Only bad things could come from that, he just knew. The universe wasn’t exactly big on doing him favors.

“Shit, where the fuck is that big red bastard…”

The closest thing to luck that he’d had was that he’d already come to Snow Town in search of Kokonoe- or, more accurately, the big walking hunk of meat that would lead him to her. And if Kokonoe knew anything, it was technology. He liked to think that she’d be willing to help out. If he was even luckier, maybe she’d have a place where he could take a nap…

Ragna bit back a yawn. If it wasn’t bad enough that he was wandering around without anything more than his usual jacket, he was currently running on four hours of sleep at best. The NOL seemed to have been more persistent than usual, to the point where he hadn’t been willing to risk a long period of rest in case it made him an easy target. His body was currently very unhappy with being forced to move, and every inch of him felt sore and sluggish.

Another round of sparks snapped and popped out of the back of his hand. Ragna gave the ruined device a hard smack. At that point, the busted regulator was the only thing stopping him from trying to find an inn with a warm bed and crash for two days straight. He didn’t need to worry about the Grimoire going haywire and randomly eating people’s souls while he couldn’t control it, or whatever it would try to do to him if he couldn’t handle it properly. Though the freezing weather was making a compelling argument, and it was getting more and more difficult to convince himself to keep going.

The dull, persistent ache in his muscles made him slump forwards, breathing heavily. That was just as much a mistake, as it let in lungfuls of freezing air that only made him start to shiver.

A small, wet noise hit the ground somewhere in front of him. When Ragna opened his eyes again, a little starburst of red had formed on the snow in front of him.

“What the…?”

Something small streaked in his vision. Another little splatter joined the first. 

Puzzled, gloved fingers brushed under his nose and came away stained red. Something warm rolled down his face as he stood back up. It was definitely blood, and definitely his blood, at that.

The sight of it only annoyed him. Ragna didn’t bother to worry about the mess he was making as he rubbed his nose again and wiped the mess off on his sleeve. He really didn’t need this right now. He was already prepared to take a nap in the nearest snowbank and let whatever the fuck wanted to happen happen, adding more annoyances to his situation only made it worse.

When the cold air in his body made him cough, Ragna felt something else warm running down his chin. Spit, he expected, was the most logical option, gross as it was. But when he moved to brush it off, his glove came back soaked in more blood.

“What the _fuck-_” His words came out as a terrified whisper, and he felt his sword slip from his grip. It- it had to be a mistake, right? It was probably just part of the nosebleed, wasn’t it? Why would he be bleeding from there? Where would it be coming from?

“Kokonoe, I gotta find- !”

All of his muscles suddenly stiffened and went tense. Ragna didn’t realize he was falling backwards until the snow brushed the back of his neck. The smell of something burning filled his nose, mixing with the blood stench. Despite the weight, it almost felt like he was floating.

Any pleasantness that he could have gotten from it vanished immediately as his entire body went stiff again. The sensation of everything going taut sent a blitz of pain down his already-aching back and shot up to the base of his neck. It was hard to process anything that was happening around or to him. The snow was wet and slippery under his back, and the frigid breeze clawed at whatever skin was exposed. Something else warm and wet had started spilling out of his right ear, and it didn’t take a genius to guess what that was. His veins felt like they were on fire, scalding him from the inside-out until he was nothing more than a burnt black husk. The pain in his arm was growing more and more unbearable, and he could make out more sparks that were practically fountaining out of his broken regulator.

Whatever that indicated, Ragna knew it wasn’t going to be good. It felt like someone was trying to hammer needles into his head. If he could control himself, he would have screamed in pain, gripping his aching body and writhing in agony. But all he could manage, even with his best efforts, was a weak moan, twitching helplessly in a growing puddle of red.


End file.
